Ahead Of The Bell: Trade Deficit

A rebound in consumer spending should help stabilize the economy this summer and bring a small amount of growth by the final quarter of this year, many analysts say.

American manufacturing companies have struggled because of weak domestic demand and the slump in exports. U.S. manufacturing giants like 3M Co. and Honeywell International Inc. derive a large part of their sales from foreign markets.

Maplewood, Minn.-based 3M, maker of Scotch tape, Post-It Notes and automotive parts, saw sales plummet in the first quarter, due partly to lower overseas demand.

Honeywell, headquartered in Morristown, N.J., makes aircraft equipment, specialty chemicals and building control systems. It has warned that the deepening global recession will make 2009 a tough year.